Meet the Trust Board

Andy McDowall

Role: Board Member

Andy has extensive experience and a deep understanding of primary education. Following three Headships he gained additional experience of education across the country through his work for Local Authorities and Ofsted. He held the post of Her Majesty’s Inspector and has managed his own educational consultancy business working with a range of schools across the Midlands.

Andy has a thorough grasp of the issues associated with school governance and improvement and a strong track record of offering challenge and support to schools.

Carmen Hibbert

Role: Chair of Board of Directors

Chair of Courthouse Green Local Governing Body

Carmen is a retired teacher who has spent her teaching career in Secondary Education and the last twenty years in positions of leadership. The majority of those years has been as a Senior Leader providing strategic leadership, direction and vision to school, ensuring that the values and ethos of the school promoted students’ progress, quality of learning and quality experiences (including their pastoral, care and guidance). She passionately believes that schools have a responsibility to work with parents/carers and other agencies and individuals to provide children with the best education, the best environment in which they can thrive, the best and most suitable adults to work with them and the best opportunities to expand their horizons. Carmen has served on the governing body in schools in various capacities, including leading the Performance and Standards Sub Committee of the Governing Body of her last school and is therefore able to offer valuable support and insight into decisions about raising standards, the directions of the school and how it can be developed. She is has experience of being Vice Chair on the Courthouse Green Governing Body. She has children and grandchildren and in her spare time she enjoys her allotment, reading and speaking at Conferences nationally.

Claire Anderson

Role: Board Member

Claire Anderson is a Solicitor with 25 years experience, specialising in Criminal Defence work. In her role she has been responsible for the HR function within the business including contractual issues, staff management issues and employment law issues. She is passionate about state education and as such became the lead school in the RSA Teaching School Alliance across the West Midlands. Lorraine has been the School Improvement Partner to the Redditch Trust since 2013 and received an OBE for ‘Services to Education’ in January 2015. Lorraine’s expertise covers all aspects of school leadership and management and she is now an Education Consultant.

Mark Kalinowski

Role: Board Member and Director

Finance Director with over 30 years of experience in all aspects of financial and general management within the Manufacturing & Contract Logistics Industry (B2B and B2C) including Rolls Royce plc, Audi AG and DHL. Comercially minded, understanding the purpose and usefulness of financial information for business decision making. Highly skilled in the preparation of tenders, onward customer negotiations, and project management. Strong at building relationships through employee engagement and powerful communicator with customers and investors. Skilled at team building and developing, energising and motivating others. Successfully implemented several manufacturing and financial systems. Has worked in the Americas, Far East and Middle East. Spent 15 years coaching football at the local junior football club.

Mary Hoverd B.Phil. Ed. Special Education

Role: Director

Mary has 35 years’ experience in Education, working in various authorities in the UK and also abroad. Her focus for many years was in Special Educational Needs Provision within mainstream schools. Further areas of expertise lie in assessment and data analysis, areas cited as examples of outstanding practice by Ofsted. She became a Headteacher in 2000 and under her leadership, the school moved to Outstanding in all areas in both Ofsted and SIAS inspections. Mary was then invited by Warwickshire Education Authority to become a consultant Headteacher. In this role she worked with a variety of schools to enable them to raise standards and significantly improve their Ofsted rating. Mary remains passionate about education.

Paul Weston

Role: Director

Paul has a wealth of educational experience. He has taught in a wide variety of schools of different size, type and location. Paul has extensive headship experience and worked as an adviser and education officer for two Midlands shire local authorities. Paul gained a Master of Arts degree in School Improvement from Nottingham University, studying with Professor David Hopkins. Paul has been an Ofsted inspector since the mid-1990’s and was one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors for eight years. Most recently, he was Head of Education Standards and Improvement in a West Midlands local authority. He is now an independent education consultant.

Sarah Malam

Role: Chief Executive Officer (Triumph Multi Academy Trust)

Sarah Malam has nearly 30 years’ experience in the education sector as a teacher, the last 20 of which have been as a Headteacher of 3 different primary schools both in Warwickshire and Coventry Local Authority. Working as a Strategic Leader as part of the Castle Phoenix Teaching School and as an inspector for Ofsted, she has spent significant time in primary schools across the region, developing teaching and learning practices and delivering professional development for teachers and leaders to improve outcomes for pupils. Sarah has a deep professional understanding of best practice in teaching and learning. She undertakes inspection work on behalf of Ofsted and is commissioned by the Romero MAC to deliver leadership development support for middle leaders. Sarah is the chair of the local network of 10 schools.

William Bracken

Role: Director

Will has 26 years’ working for Peugeot Citroen Motor Company in a variety of roles, which include, Used Car Sales, Logisitics, Managing exterior suppliers and is currently an Area Manager working closely with the Dealer network to improve their profitability, retention and Customer Satisfaction.

Having children who have had a great experience in Key Sage 1 and 2 Will is passionate about supporting the Trust to ensure every child gets the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

He has played Rugby and Football within Coventry for more years than he wishes to remember and is an avid Rugby fan following International Rugby.

Andrew Dewis

Role: Director

Financial Accountant with 15 years of experience working in a number of financial roles in various business sectors ranging from manufacturing, charity, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and construction. High technical skills in accounting standards, financial systems and processes. With over 10 years of experience working in the public sector and dealing with public money. He has lead teams and was responsible for the production of the financial statements for one of the largest acute trusts in the Midlands. Passionate about passing on learning to others whether as one to one training or encouraging colleagues to study for qualifications. Currently working on one of the largest multi billion pound infrastructure projects ever seen in the UK. Passionate about motorsport and if not at work will be travelling the world watching motorsport or in a muddy field walking his dog.